African delegation:
To visit Madison

By Ben Weisse
OFFICE OF JUSTICE AND PASTORAL OUTREACH

(See also front-page sidebar: New fair trade program launched.)

MADISON -- Twelve delegates from the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, located in northern Ghana, will visit the Diocese of Madison as part of the Global Solidarity Partnership between the two dioceses.

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Through living with families, the Ghanaian delegates will experience U.S. culture and share the stories of their lives.

Visiting delegation

Delegates will arrive via Chicago O'Hare on September 22 and depart on October 5. While in Madison, delegates will participate in many activities, including visiting many of the parishes in the 11-county Diocese of Madison, visiting local school and medical facilities, touring farms in southern Wisconsin, touring the Capitol, and participating in the launch of the Fair Trade Divine Chocolate. The delegates hope to meet many people in the Diocese of Madison, learn about the people and church of the diocese, and tell about the people and church from their diocese.

Opportunities for the public to meet the delegates include:

• September 23 - Fair Trade Divine Chocolate Launch at 7 p.m. at the Catholic Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St., Madison.

• September 30 - U.S. residents who came from Ghana and/or from that region of Africa are invited to a potluck dinner at St. Peter Parish, 5001 N. Sherman Ave., Madison. Those that come are asked to bring an African dish to pass.

• Each of the 18 parishes that will be hosting these delegates will have opportunities for the public to meet the delegates.

The partnership between these two dioceses began in 2002 when a delegation of seven members from the Diocese of Madison traveled to northern Ghana. The partnership was made formal by the signing of the partnership agreement in January 2004 when the second delegation from the Diocese of Madison traveled to the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga.

Participating parishes

Participating parishes include: St. Joseph, Baraboo; Our Lady of Assumption, St. Jude, and St. Thomas, Beloit; Nativity of Mary and St. John Vianney, Janesville; St. John the Baptist, Jefferson; St. Clement, Lancaster; Blessed Sacrament, St. James, St. Maria Goretti, and St. Peter, Madison; St. Barnabas, Mazomanie; Sacred Heart, Reedsburg; St. Norbert, Roxbury; St. Ann, Stoughton; St. Bernard and St. Henry, Watertown; and St. Andrew, Verona.